Artifact Details

Title

Catalog Number

102702130

Type

Text

Date

2009-07-13

Contributor

Makimoto, Tsugio, Interviewee

Remacle, Rosemary, Interviewer

Publisher

Computer History Museum

Place of Publication

Mountain View, California

Extent

28 p.

Description

This oral history summarizes Japanese pioneer Tsugio Makimoto's many contributions to the development of a global semiconductor industry. He began his engineering career as Japan was recovering from the effects of WW II and its semiconductor industry was in its earliest stages. After graduating from Tokyo University, he started as a young engineer in the Hitachi in 1959 and ended up as General manager of its Semiconductor Division. In 1999, he left Hitachi, after 40 years, to go to Sony Corporation where he was in charge of the company's semiconductor strategy. Along the way he went to Stanford where he received BS and MS degrees and back to Tokyo University for a PhD.

In this oral history, Dr. Makimoto discusses the role of technology transfers from U.S. companies such as RCA and Bell Laboratories in the development of the Japanese semiconductor industry. He also talks about his role in U.S. Japan semiconductor "trade wars" as one of the key Japanese negotiators. He was also significantly involved with the formation of the World Semiconductor Council.